0:00

Hey Prime members, you can listen to

0:02

the vanished ad free on Amazon Music.

0:04

Download the app today. Before

0:14

we get started, this episode contains

0:16

discussion of several themes that may

0:19

be distressing to our listeners, including

0:21

child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence,

0:23

and an incident that occurred that

0:25

may have exposed vulnerable people to

0:27

mistreatment or abuse. Please

0:30

take care while listening. Whoever

0:36

took her made a mistake in thinking that

0:38

she didn't have people. She's got people looking

0:40

for her and we have no

0:42

intention of stopping until we find

0:45

her. She's an important part of our

0:47

family. When

0:49

she didn't respond on social media,

0:52

we knew immediately that something was

0:54

wrong because Amber always touched base.

0:56

She was big on social media.

0:59

Did we think it was this serious? No,

1:01

but obviously it was. I mean,

1:03

I guess we don't have proof of that yet,

1:05

but who feel like we're looking for a body

1:08

because, you know, after five months, I

1:10

believe that the person of

1:13

interest or the people

1:15

of interest, I believe they did do something

1:17

to my niece. I also believe

1:19

that there's a couple of people out there that

1:22

know more than what they're saying. And

1:24

I wish they would talk. We have a reward out there.

1:26

And we've even said, you know, we don't care. Of

1:29

course, yeah, we want to get the person who would love

1:31

to. But the main thing is that we just want to

1:33

bring her home. Tell us anonymously where

1:35

she is. In

1:38

late June of 2023, 39

1:41

year old Amber Arnett contacted her mother, Marty,

1:43

asking if she could come stay at her

1:45

home for a bit. Amber expressed that she

1:47

didn't feel safe where she had been living.

1:49

Marty was away on a trip and told

1:51

her daughter that she would be home late

1:53

the following day. She expected to

1:55

see or hear from Amber after she returned to

1:57

Lansing, Michigan, but she never heard from her. her

2:00

daughter again. The days began to pass

2:02

with still no word from Amber. At

2:04

first, Marty assumed that she had found

2:06

somewhere to stay or that maybe things

2:09

turned out to be okay after all.

2:11

However, Amber was an outgoing

2:13

person who frequently posted on social media

2:15

and messaged back and forth with those

2:17

she was close to. Marty began asking

2:19

around and not a single person had

2:22

seen or heard from Amber. That was

2:24

when Marty decided to go to the police

2:26

and report Amber missing. Over the

2:28

past seven months, Marty has been digging for

2:30

any clues to help her find Amber and

2:33

what she's uncovered is a tangled web of

2:35

people and stories. But nothing has led

2:37

to any concrete evidence pointing to what

2:39

happened to Amber Arnett. I'm Marissa and

2:42

from Wondery, this is episode 425 of

2:44

The Vanished, part one of

2:46

Amber Arnett's story, A Cry

2:49

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to 500-500 to try Audible free for

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30 days. This

3:58

story takes place in Lansing, which

4:01

is the state capital of Michigan. Lansing is

4:03

just about smack dab in the middle of

4:05

the Mitten state, about halfway

4:07

between the two largest cities, Detroit

4:09

and Grand Rapids. According

4:11

to the 2020 census, the city of

4:14

Lansing itself has a population

4:16

of just about 112,000 residents,

4:18

but it's part of a much larger metro area.

4:21

We were contacted in the fall of 2023

4:23

by Amber's sister-in-law Courtney,

4:26

who wrote us the following message. Hi

4:28

there, my sister-in-law has vanished from

4:30

Lansing, Michigan. She was last seen

4:32

June 25th at the Dollar Tree

4:34

on MLK. We had channel

4:37

6 come out for two of our

4:39

search parties, but unfortunately everything has

4:41

gone cold. We've had leads,

4:43

we offered a reward. Lansing PD

4:45

has been less than willing to assist, at least

4:47

what they'll tell us. We

4:49

don't know what to do. We heard rumors it's

4:51

foul play. Any help or getting this

4:54

information out is greatly appreciated. We have a Facebook

4:56

group that has about 820 people called Help Us

4:58

Find Amber. Someone

5:01

on that group mentioned this podcast and provided

5:04

a link. We have littered Lansing

5:06

with missing persons posters. We're not sure what

5:08

else to do. Thank you for

5:10

your time. You'll get to hear from

5:12

Courtney in a bit, but Courtney was able

5:14

to connect us with Amber's mother, Marty, who

5:16

has spearheaded the search efforts for Amber,

5:19

with Courtney by her side, managing the

5:21

social media end of things. During

5:24

her first interview, Marty told us that she had spoken

5:26

with her daughter on June 23rd, 2023. On

5:31

June 23rd, I was out of town on vacation

5:34

and she had messaged me through messengers

5:36

saying, Mom, can I come home for a couple of

5:38

days? It's not safe for me to stay where I'm

5:40

at. And I said, well, I'm out of town, but

5:43

I'll be back on late on the 24th. So

5:45

I expected to see her on the 25th of June,

5:48

which would have been a Sunday. She didn't

5:50

show up. She didn't call and I thought, okay, she

5:52

found someplace to stay. She's okay now. Not

5:55

unusual for our relationship to

5:57

not hear from her. So after... I

6:00

start thinking, well, where's she at? I tried to

6:02

call her, I tried to message her and nothing.

6:05

It was not unusual to not see

6:08

her for a week or two at a

6:10

time. But I could always track

6:12

her on Facebook. She was very

6:14

active on Facebook, posting a memory

6:16

or posting a picture or reaching

6:19

out to somebody. So

6:21

I could always reach her that way

6:23

and it just stopped on June 25th.

6:27

Everybody hadn't heard from Amber since the 23rd

6:29

but we can see that Amber posted on

6:31

Facebook on the 25th of June. She

6:34

shared a memory from 2015. It

6:36

was just a meme that said, if what

6:38

doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I'd

6:40

say I'm pretty indestructible by now. In

6:43

hindsight, posting that meme on the day

6:45

she disappeared seems a bit eerie. But

6:48

this post didn't seem out of the ordinary

6:50

for Amber. She posted similar memes all the

6:52

time. Looking at her social media,

6:54

Amber seemed like a straight shooter. Amber

6:57

was Amber. Take her for who she

6:59

is or move along. Another one

7:01

she posted on June 10th said, the good news

7:04

is I'm pretty much who I say I am.

7:06

The bad news is I'm pretty much who I

7:08

say I am. On June 11th,

7:10

she posted a meme that said, if you

7:12

hesitate between me and another person, don't

7:14

choose me. But Amber, who was

7:17

always active on social media, seemed to

7:19

go radio silent on June 25th, Marty

7:23

had been away on vacation with her son. Amber's

7:26

younger brother, Brian, his wife,

7:28

Courtney, and Brian's daughter, whom Amber

7:30

was very close to. Amber's

7:33

sister-in-law, Courtney, recalled something that seemed off

7:35

about all of this. She

7:37

was very protective of my husband's daughter,

7:40

my stepdaughter. She would do anything for

7:42

her. She had such a love

7:44

for her. Marty was

7:46

receiving some text messages while we were

7:48

in Alaska. It was a graduation present

7:50

to my stepdaughter. A couple text messages

7:52

came in and Amber was asking if

7:55

she could come by, but we were

7:57

out of town. What happened after

7:59

that is. They just went completely

8:01

radio silence and I would probably

8:03

failure. A week after the last

8:05

text message, Marty started what's going

8:08

On some the merit year the

8:10

big syndication has emerged Never tested

8:12

Marty. That was number one, number

8:14

two as her Facebook had zero.

8:17

Activity on it and that's a huge red

8:19

flag. She is all over their face like

8:21

all the time. He's. Always using

8:23

Facebook messenger and it was just

8:25

violence. By what scared me,

8:27

the mall. Was. My stepdaughter messaging

8:30

her and she never message my stepdaughter

8:32

back and that of not like or

8:34

the not talk to my stepdaughter the

8:37

i think at that moment when she

8:39

didn't reply in she didn't even open

8:41

it. Is. Well for me

8:43

personally, Yeah, My Billie, Brian,

8:46

Eno, my husband. Still, we thought

8:48

that something was not right from

8:50

those really bad. Since.

8:52

It was typical for a number to go stretches

8:55

of time without contacting her mother. Marty

8:57

wasn't overly concerned about her at the

8:59

very beginning. She figures I am birds

9:01

found another place to stay and she

9:03

would pop up again if she needed

9:05

something. But the days continued to

9:07

pass without hearing from Amber. It was

9:09

longer than what was normal for her

9:11

Marty sister Embers, Aunt Robin meaning to

9:14

marty at a family gathering and the

9:16

to began to compare notes on when

9:18

they avast heard from Amber. So.

9:21

I phone though. We had went to

9:23

a family function at my daughter's and

9:25

my sister was there and she had

9:28

asked me. If. I have heard

9:30

from Amber because Amber and I we

9:32

were close for a long time a

9:34

big part of our life. we were

9:36

close as she would contact me very

9:39

often and my sister and me that.

9:41

He knows strange because ever hadn't called,

9:43

she hadn't reached out or anything which

9:45

again that was strange sides or my

9:47

sister know I said in fact I

9:49

have a doctor and. I've tried

9:51

to reach out so about have been no his

9:54

spot and so therefore it kind of a sudden

9:56

like I don't know what to do. I don't

9:58

know if I should bother me. The

10:00

quarter met mean. Often

10:02

times, in a case like this where

10:04

someone isn't in daily contact with family,

10:06

it's the passing of a major holiday.

10:09

Without any word that causes the family

10:11

to decide, it's time to take action

10:13

and that. Was what happened with Amber. The.

10:15

Fourth of July came and went and still

10:17

no one had seen or heard from her

10:19

and her friends were saying they to hadn't.

10:21

Seen her and sending just felt

10:24

wrong. So. Marty once the

10:26

Lansing Police Department. Report her daughter

10:28

missing. Initially,

10:30

I thought were issue and never

10:33

imagined. That. She would just be

10:35

missing is doesn't happen in real life.

10:37

I figured somebody would say something to

10:39

the hospital. I called the hospital said

10:41

called the mortgage com hospitals in the

10:43

surrounding cities that didn't know she'd been

10:45

in an accident or is something was

10:47

wrong and do something was wrong but

10:49

I did know what it was. Still

10:52

don't know what it is the when

10:54

I didn't hear from her by the

10:56

fourth of July I thought something's something's

10:58

wrong. So I started

11:00

calling. The police saying any to file

11:02

a missing persons. Report. And it

11:04

took me. Literally, it took me six phone calls and

11:06

two and a half weeks for them to send an

11:08

officer to my house to take of missing. Persons

11:11

Report. Is. So frustrating because they've

11:13

said, well, she's thirty nine years old. She

11:15

could do what she wants to do. It's

11:17

crazy that couldn't get the local authorities to

11:20

listen to me. Something. Is

11:22

wrong. She's wouldn't just disappear like this again.

11:24

It should be two and a half weeks

11:26

for them to come and take a report.

11:28

So in the meantime I'm out on Facebook

11:30

getting a message out to her friends. Has

11:32

anybody heard from her? To somebody Message me.

11:34

And. I fully expected her to pop out of

11:37

whatever whole she was in and say hey

11:39

mom, would he do what your bare sent

11:41

me a fully expected that when I first

11:43

started looking for her and she just didn't

11:45

So finally, After the police came and took

11:47

a report in we were able to

11:49

get her into the system. Another week

11:51

goes by before detective is assigned to

11:53

it and I speak to the detective

11:55

and then that detected this kind of

11:57

goes did for a couple of weeks.

12:00

He I. Know she had something personal going

12:02

out for a couple of weeks so we lost a

12:04

lot of time in the beginning. You know there is

12:06

a couple weeks that I thought in a while she'll

12:08

surface and then it took a couple a true the

12:10

police to get active and then you know. Couple

12:12

more weeks for the police to really

12:15

believe it and it's been so frustrating

12:17

with the police. So she

12:19

was carrying around a backpack. Full.

12:21

Of clothing and at a know her

12:23

personal need stuff her phone is missing

12:25

and whatever was in her backpack that

12:28

she. Was carrying around. Money.

12:30

To mention the amber sewn disappeared along

12:32

with her daughter. so we as morty

12:34

what she. Knows about Embers phone

12:36

accounts, She went to

12:39

phones like people go through underwear swear

12:41

but that is Amber. yes you'd lose

12:43

them are droplet or forget it someplace.

12:45

She had a pay By the months

12:47

ago I bought her a new phone

12:49

and may be push your her com

12:51

that broken she didn't have one. I

12:54

wanted her to have some communications. I

12:56

bought her brand new phone. But

12:58

ammo would change phone numbers almost

13:00

every single time she changed, for

13:02

I don't understand the logic of

13:05

that. such as was. Her reality.

13:07

Set. Her up with a new number.

13:09

Thirty days worth of phone. In

13:12

May and then in June I gave

13:14

her the money to extended another month

13:16

so that she. Would have communication.

13:19

So. It was a pay by months. Thing: I couldn't

13:21

access anything about her phone. To.

13:24

My knowledge of phone.

13:26

Wasn't. Working for phone calls

13:29

at least at. The end of

13:31

June because I tried to call it and

13:33

it went right to. I got a message

13:35

that your your phone is unable to take

13:37

calls or something like that. I know

13:39

that choose able to use it as a

13:41

the twenty says four messages. I don't know

13:44

that it was available for phone calls. I.

13:46

Don't know what her phone quit working. I

13:48

tried texting her calling her several times after,

13:50

figured out that something was wrong and I

13:53

never got an answer back. As I tried

13:55

to call it, I get an automated message

13:57

saying it was out of service. One

14:00

of Amber's childhood friends, Brandi, heard from

14:03

Amber's cousin who was a close friend

14:05

that Amber was missing. Brandi

14:07

was shocked to hear the news but jumped

14:09

in as many others did to help support

14:11

Marty and other family members in any way

14:13

that she could. Carolyn,

14:16

which is her cousin, told me that her mom

14:18

had filed a missing person's report. I mean,

14:20

I was shocked. You hear about things like

14:22

this all over the world or in a

14:25

different city or whatnot. But obviously, of

14:28

course, there's another cliche thing when it hits home.

14:30

You know, it just clearly it hits a little

14:32

differently. Her mom has organized

14:34

quite a few searches to where

14:36

a lot of people have gathered and

14:39

she's kind of mapped everything out and

14:41

sent groups to different locations just to

14:43

see if you see anything or

14:45

just anything suspicious pretty much. So we've

14:48

done quite a few of those. It's

14:50

circulating all around Facebook. They've handed out

14:52

thousands and thousands of flyers. The

14:54

police department pretty much from what

14:57

they're saying is she's an adult.

15:00

So the way I'm taking it is pretty

15:02

much it's not too much of a concern because she's an

15:04

adult, even though there's lots of red flags along

15:06

the way. But it just doesn't seem that they

15:08

care too much. Marty has went

15:11

through tooth and nail to try and

15:13

get somebody to hear or somebody to

15:15

even just listen, broadcast it. I

15:17

mean, what are you hurting by broadcasting it?

15:19

Somebody knows something. Somebody has seen something. Because

15:22

if it was your child, you'd want the

15:24

same information put out there. And that's all

15:26

she wants. And the fact that she's an

15:28

adult shouldn't make a difference. She's still loved.

15:31

She still cared for. When

15:33

the Lansing police department began investigating

15:35

Amber's disappearance, they were able to

15:37

find a last sighting of Amber

15:39

alive and well on surveillance footage.

15:42

Amber had been at a local dollar

15:44

store in Lansing on South MLK Boulevard.

15:46

Marty told us about this. The

15:49

Lansing police department put the

15:52

information out that she was last seen at

15:54

the dollar store. The reason that

15:56

they put that out there was because that's

15:58

the last time that they can confirm. The.

16:00

Her. Some played the i Care

16:02

More and she use a credit

16:04

card there. She actually bought some

16:07

food item so that's the last

16:09

place. That date in Lansing Police can

16:11

current so she was. that. She.

16:13

Was with a friend at the

16:15

dollar store. The police questions that

16:18

person. And cleared him. They've

16:20

got him someplace else during the time

16:22

as she actually disappeared. He's not a

16:24

person of interest at this point. We

16:26

know that he dropped her off to

16:29

the police, were able to track her

16:31

financial transaction and the as a video.

16:33

So that's that. The clothing description that

16:35

the police put out there is what

16:37

she was wearing when she was at

16:40

the dollar store early in the afternoon.

16:42

She appeared to be okay and that

16:44

video. She was smiling as whoever was

16:46

with her as couldn't see the person

16:48

that off. The side of her

16:50

to video only showed Amber in the

16:52

store and it was confirmed. I spoke

16:55

with the manager of that store. And.

16:57

An unrelated events she recognized mean

16:59

we chatted and she confirmed that

17:01

she was there that day. But

17:03

Amor was fine. That.

17:06

Sighting of ever seems to be where the

17:08

trail goes cold. As far as what law

17:10

enforcement. Has released to the Embers last known

17:12

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39 year old Amber Arnett disappeared, she seemed

19:37

to be at one of the lowest points

19:39

in her life. Amber didn't have

19:41

an easy life. She was no stranger

19:43

to struggle. Things happened in Amber's early

19:45

life that seemed to set her on a path

19:48

careening toward destruction. There

19:50

were traumas in her early childhood that

19:52

haunted her forever, but things weren't always

19:54

so bad. Amber's mother, Marty, was able

19:56

to tell us more about her daughter's

19:58

early years. Amber

20:00

has one younger brother. He is about a

20:02

year and a half younger than her. I

20:05

was young, but she was a

20:07

blessing and she was the oldest

20:09

grandchild in our family. So she

20:11

was a welcome addition. She was

20:14

a happy baby. Everything was

20:16

normal in the beginning. Amber grew

20:18

up in Lansing, Michigan. She lived here all

20:20

of her life. Very rarely even

20:22

traveled out of the city. When

20:25

she was a child, she loved music. She

20:27

loved to just listen to music and

20:29

hang out with her friends. Normal kid,

20:31

my mother, it's one of her favorite

20:33

people. All of the kids, her

20:35

cousins were her best friends. They all hung

20:37

out together. Even then, she was very spirited,

20:41

vocal. Sometimes you ask her, where's the

20:43

mute button? She was

20:46

very vocal and outspoken.

20:48

She was in the marching band for a

20:50

while. She played the drums, of course, cuz they're loud.

20:54

She was talented at it. She had the natural

20:56

ability for it. She didn't stick with it,

20:59

but she tried that for a couple of years.

21:01

She was smart. She got good

21:03

grades. Amber's friend,

21:05

Brandy, explained that she had met Amber

21:07

during their adolescent years, and she always

21:09

liked her. Amber had a special

21:11

personality that stood out amongst the

21:13

crowd. I have

21:15

probably known Amber, I wanna say, it's just

21:17

12, 13, 20 plus years. Amber

21:23

is an amazing

21:25

person. Amber is a

21:27

firecracker, but

21:29

a lovable firecracker. Amber,

21:31

as there, has always been very outgoing, and

21:34

Amber has an amazing sense of humor. Don't

21:36

mess with the people that she loves, cuz

21:38

she will just go for them. She would

21:40

share with you of what she had. That

21:42

was, she would share with you of what

21:45

she had. That was just who Amber was.

21:47

We would all just hang out after school

21:49

or go to each other's houses. And

21:52

just hang out, have sleepovers, things like that.

21:54

Just normal teenage girl thing. Amber

21:56

could make you laugh, you were having a bad

21:58

day. Amber could make you smile. And.

22:00

She had like a quirky sense of humor.

22:04

When. Ever was a young child. She was

22:06

a victim of sexual abuse at the hands

22:08

of her father. This. Is something that is

22:10

still very raw and difficult for Mardi to

22:12

speak about. She knows that this abuse had

22:14

a lifelong. Impact On. Amber. She.

22:17

Had some early childhood. Trauma when

22:20

she was sex with her father

22:22

and I were divorcing him as

22:24

a term that the incident happened.

22:26

We. Had split up in the

22:28

spring and to my knowledge, you

22:31

didn't start internal late summer or

22:33

between sometime in the spring and.

22:36

Before school started. This.

22:38

All happened. We were saying with

22:40

my. Parents Air and she

22:42

was acting strangely so.

22:44

We were. Talking one night before she went

22:46

to bed and she told me about

22:49

it that her dad had done these

22:51

things and. I. Immediately called Cps

22:53

that night and then the next

22:55

morning the ball started rolling and.

22:57

It came out in the investigation that

22:59

you know this was something that was

23:02

quite common in his family, his dad,

23:04

her grandfather had abused and other brainchild

23:06

I had no knowledge of that at

23:08

the time. It was a big deal. He.

23:11

Would say to her kit mom because

23:13

she wants to see. Me again. And

23:15

them that the grandparents were blaming me

23:17

for calling the police. How dare you

23:19

call the police. It happened in their

23:21

home. They knew about it. They didn't

23:23

want anything to do with my kids.

23:25

After that when he went to prison he didn't want

23:28

to do with them. I. Have a death

23:30

he would never that would never even crossed

23:32

his mind to. Do something like that. Nor

23:34

would anybody and his family. So. For this

23:36

to happen, they came out of the

23:38

blue for. Me: And to find

23:40

out that it was a same there is a family.

23:42

History. Of this, it blew me

23:44

away. That's not how. My. Reality

23:47

was that was nobody I knew.

23:49

That. I know have had been impacted

23:51

by something like that and so. In

23:53

all can add of my depth there for a

23:56

while and it just wasn't. Normal and

23:58

my world. She didn't see him. for

24:00

a long, for years after that until he got

24:02

out of prison after that. And we got

24:04

her counseling a few times

24:07

when she was six and again when

24:09

she was a teenager. She was reluctant

24:11

to share anything when she was a

24:13

teenager. When Amber was

24:15

a teenager, this trauma from early childhood

24:17

abuse bubbled to the surface again when it

24:20

came time for her father to be released

24:22

from prison. Amber's future had once

24:24

seemed so bright, but she began

24:26

acting out in ways that had

24:29

negative consequences on her life. So

24:31

about the time she was in high school, he

24:33

was getting out of prison. So she struggled. He

24:36

made all kinds of promises about he's going

24:38

to make it up to her and

24:41

then he failed her and

24:43

we were in and out of counseling

24:45

with her. When I thought she was on a

24:48

good path, she'd take a left turn. She

24:51

struggled with it. She was never, how should

24:53

I say, she was never a bad person.

24:57

For senior year, she kind of went a

24:59

different direction and she just didn't want to

25:01

go to school. The friends were more important

25:03

and hanging out. She was good

25:06

up until middle of high school. She

25:08

just kind of went a different direction. She

25:10

started hanging out with a different crowd. She

25:12

just decided she didn't want to go to

25:14

school anymore. I'd come home from

25:16

work and I worked out of town. So

25:19

my house would be the party house. Well,

25:21

everybody was at work. The year after

25:23

she should have graduated, she changed her

25:25

mind and she went to school. She

25:27

did the night school thing and she

25:29

graduated. She knew what she needed

25:31

to do. She just didn't do it traditionally.

25:34

She worked a lot of different jobs. She

25:37

did a lot of caretaking jobs. She went

25:39

through a dental hygienist program and she got

25:41

her certification. She did that for a while.

25:43

She waitressed. I don't know that there's a

25:46

restaurant in town that she didn't waitress at.

25:48

She did a lot of odd

25:50

jobs. But her passion was always caring

25:52

for people. She ended up doing that

25:54

for the most part. She was a

25:57

caretaker. She ran adult foster care homes.

26:00

The right to live in. A leader

26:02

at and house manager? Maybe that

26:04

was what she enjoyed. The most in

26:06

what she ended up doing the latter part

26:08

of her career eating with people she wanted

26:10

to be around, people shooting. Want to

26:13

do the same old thing all

26:15

the time? She's extremely generous. She's

26:17

very giving. It to a fault. You

26:19

know if somebody needs something and she's

26:21

got it, she'd give it to you

26:24

no questions asked and to her own

26:26

detriment many times in as you'd give

26:28

away money that she did have a

26:30

clothing that she didn't have. she loves

26:32

people, specially elderly people. that that was

26:34

her passion. Everything robin

26:37

to saw how this trauma such as

26:39

her nice it seems the always right

26:41

below the surface. Is.

26:44

She was a wild ones in that way.

26:47

She. Just had so much. Energy

26:49

See has a big heart. Unfortunately

26:51

she went through a bad episode

26:53

with her father at a young

26:56

age and so in effect of

26:58

her for the rest of her

27:00

life growing up. It. Was like

27:02

she carried that on her shoulders, which you

27:04

know you couldn't blame her because it was

27:06

awful. He ended up going to prison. Long

27:09

story short throughout her life she just

27:11

was i don't not angry the word

27:13

but you could tell that something was

27:16

bothering her at that makes them Something

27:18

was always on her mind and she

27:20

was very self conscious. Very focuses on

27:23

she was a beautiful girl. She had

27:25

kids pick honor, bullied or so to

27:27

speak but she made it through. As

27:30

your friend group was getting older friend

27:32

you because of the all moved on

27:35

doing their own. Saints really started a

27:37

family and Amber never had any children.

27:39

This is usually the natural progression

27:41

of things as everyone moves down

27:43

their own path was school, careers

27:45

and families. The neighbor was still

27:47

around and maintained a relationship with

27:49

Brandy. I. wouldn't say

27:51

everybody kind of went their own way

27:53

because everybody still kind of hung out

27:55

but you know after high school you

27:57

know everybody gets jobs and things like

28:00

We're not like young and carefree anymore to where

28:02

we get to hang out all the time and

28:05

things like that. So I mean, everybody just kind

28:07

of grew up and got jobs and some people

28:09

started families. So everybody was still around each other.

28:11

I got married in 2016. You

28:14

know, Amber came to my wedding. People started

28:16

having kids and Amber was always the

28:18

one to bring the kid candy and

28:20

get them all hyper. And she thought it was

28:22

hilarious. Amber was the aunt to

28:24

everybody's kids. My daughter, she would say that

28:27

was her niece. I feel like Amber has

28:29

been one of those people that has never

28:31

changed. Amber never judged

28:33

anybody. Amber loved everybody. Amber was

28:35

very friendly. Amber was

28:37

always just the go to. You

28:40

could rely on Amber for anything. Amber was a

28:42

very loyal friend to anybody that she loved. You

28:44

could always count on Amber to be there. When

28:47

Amber was in that rough patch during her late

28:49

teens and early twenties, she turned to

28:52

alcohol as a coping mechanism. Everybody

28:54

isn't sure exactly when it started, but

28:56

things went from bad to worse. Shortly

29:00

after high school or maybe even the

29:02

end of her high school, I can't

29:04

tell you exactly when it started, but

29:06

she was an alcoholic before she was

29:08

even eligible to drink really. Her

29:10

father was an alcoholic. They talk

29:13

about hereditary things, nature versus nurture.

29:16

Believe me, I did all the talking I could

29:18

and she couldn't hear it from me. So I

29:20

tried, but she had to make that choice for

29:23

herself. As Amber's

29:25

life was spiraling out of control, Marty

29:27

noticed that the crowd she was hanging around

29:29

was changing and things began to go missing

29:31

from her home. She didn't know what

29:33

else to do. It

29:36

was a single parent household and I

29:38

probably enabled more than I

29:40

should when she was a teenager and then

29:43

in her twenties. And then I finally had

29:45

to, for my own sanity, say enough is

29:47

enough. I can't just hand you any more

29:49

money. I can't, you know, you can't just

29:51

come back here in and out whenever you

29:54

want to, bringing all your friends with you. If

29:56

you want to come home For a few

29:58

days at a time, you can do that. You

30:00

can't bring those people with you. She

30:02

started hanging out with a really a

30:04

bad crowd and I didn't want to

30:06

people in my house things were coming

30:08

up missing, lose money laying around valuables

30:10

would occasionally disappear in. Amber When I

30:12

was, it wasn't. Me: look who did you

30:14

have been here Then you know it sold

30:16

out. Can't treatment? Has we had that discussion?

30:19

Ever was diagnosed with diabetes when

30:22

she was young adults drinking alcohol

30:24

and diabetes or a bad combination.

30:27

Marty watched Amber self destructive behaviors,

30:29

but she. Was powerless to stop her

30:31

as Amber was now an adult. Eventually,

30:34

Amber did stop drinking though, and

30:36

Morty felt such a sense of

30:38

relief. Ever has

30:40

type two diabetes. We found out

30:42

when she was in her late

30:44

teens, early twenties, She. Was the

30:46

type of alcoholics who could go. Days.

30:50

Or weeks without drinking. However,

30:52

once she started. She couldn't

30:54

stop. She couldn't stop until she

30:56

blacked hours to get sick or something, and

30:58

then she'd go like that for a couple

31:01

of days and then she staff again for

31:03

week or a couple days at a time.

31:05

When she was drinking she was no

31:08

reasonable. To get into fights for. she

31:10

was good until she picked up the first

31:12

during and after that tell that for off

31:14

it was detrimental to our house to the

31:17

diabetics use insulin dependent. Doctors told

31:19

her you know you have to

31:21

stop to the hospital. Pancreatic issues

31:23

is have to stop Amber and

31:25

she just wouldn't It's scary to

31:27

watch her house was deteriorating. She.

31:29

Had gallbladder surgery as an adult she

31:32

had her appendix out. As an adult

31:34

she's had both hips replaced a non.

31:36

She didn't always manage her insulin and

31:38

her her medication very well. She know

31:41

she be in the hospitals are a

31:43

few days at a time. She'd.

31:45

He'll have been issued gore it back to

31:47

don't whatever she was doing. Prior.

31:50

To being in the hospital. It. wouldn't take

31:52

long maybe a week maybe two leagues and

31:54

then should be back doing whatever she was

31:56

doing before step hospitalized so as frustrating as

31:58

a parent watch child your adult

32:01

child damage herself and

32:03

not manage her health very well, knowing

32:05

that she should stop and the doctors tell

32:07

her, if you don't stop, you could kill

32:09

yourself. The next drink could kill you. She

32:11

wouldn't listen to that. But when

32:14

she quit for good, she never touched

32:16

a drink again. She drank up until

32:18

about, I want to say

32:20

maybe five years ago, six years ago, something

32:22

happened in this, which finally came on and

32:24

she quit. She just cold turkey quit. So

32:26

when she quit drinking, she quit getting in

32:28

trouble. There was an event, I don't know

32:31

what it was. She alluded to it a

32:33

couple of times. There was an event, something

32:35

happened that made her quit, but she would

32:37

never tell me what it was. I was

32:39

thankful for whatever it was. As horrible as

32:41

it must have been to make her stop,

32:43

I was thankful that it did. Robin

32:46

recalls the rough years in Amber's life

32:49

before she got sober, the bad situations

32:51

she was in, the bad relationships. But

32:53

then Amber met someone who seemed good

32:56

for her and she was able to

32:58

get sober and maintain that for a

33:00

long time. Unfortunately, at the end of

33:02

the day, my niece just had a rough

33:04

life and it wasn't due to anybody's fault. It

33:06

was just, well, her dad's fault. Yes, for sure.

33:09

The poor girl was just, she feels like she

33:11

was doomed from the beginning. So it was kind

33:13

of like she was trying to block it

33:15

out. I think I wish that

33:17

she had had a better life to where

33:19

it wasn't so hard on her, but she's

33:22

tried to overcome in a lot of ways,

33:24

but she always ended up with the wrong

33:26

crowd because she was so wrapped up in

33:28

the wrong people. She

33:30

never really expressed, you know, I want to go to

33:33

college. I want to do this for my life. I

33:35

just, the only thing she would say is

33:37

she just wanted all the bad to stop.

33:39

She felt like she was the worst person

33:41

or that had the worst luck in the

33:43

world. And she felt like she didn't have

33:46

anybody there in her corner, which she did.

33:48

She just never thought that she was good

33:50

enough to do anything. She just wanted to

33:52

be happy. She wanted things to not being

33:54

so ugly in her life. And she wanted

33:57

to do good, but every time she tried, it was one

33:59

of those things. where you go one step forward

34:01

and she would go 10 steps backwards. She

34:04

had a lot of boyfriends, but they were

34:06

all bad. And that's where everything started because

34:08

they were just, they were into bad things.

34:10

They were in the drinking. They were into

34:12

drugs. She was so

34:14

insecure and none of them

34:16

ever really ended well. She was with

34:18

this one for the longest, probably I'm

34:20

going to say four or five years

34:22

or maybe even longer, but he beat

34:24

her, literally beat her all the time.

34:26

And it was heart wrenching for all

34:28

of the family because we didn't

34:31

know what to do for her. He

34:33

literally almost beat her to death. It

34:35

wasn't far from that at all. And

34:37

she was found at the end of a riverbank.

34:40

And luckily someone found her and

34:43

probably about seven or eight

34:45

years ago, she met

34:47

someone and he really turned her life

34:50

around and she started doing really good.

34:52

No drinking, no drugs, taking care of herself.

34:54

And we was all really proud of her

34:56

and stuff. She got a good job, actually.

34:59

She started taking care of people. She was

35:01

a caretaker. So I guess if anything in

35:03

her life, that's what she was, she was

35:05

doing. Well, she was taking care of the

35:07

elderly. She did good for like seven years.

35:09

They had their problems and stuff, but they

35:11

did good. She was happy. She held her

35:13

job down and she was living in a

35:15

home where she took care of six or

35:17

seven elderly people. Amber's

35:20

sister-in-law Courtney had come into her life

35:22

around this time. When she

35:24

began dating Amber's brother, Brian, Courtney remembers

35:26

that Amber was doing really well and

35:29

the two clicked. When

35:31

I met her, I had heard stories prior

35:33

that she made some bad decisions in life.

35:36

But when I met her, she was actually

35:38

in a really good place. Brian

35:40

and her, they didn't have the greatest relationship.

35:42

He didn't agree with a lot of her

35:44

lifestyle choices, but at the end of the

35:47

day they had each other's back. We attended

35:49

a funeral of a uncle that passed away

35:51

and even then, and it was one of

35:53

her favorite uncles. She still was

35:55

in a very good place. She was working.

35:57

She sounded like she was Doing. Much

36:00

better. Neighborhood a long

36:02

period of stability in her life while

36:04

she was dating this man that Robin

36:06

had mentioned a few minutes ago Miles.

36:08

but he didn't last. Mardi told us

36:11

more. She. Was doing

36:13

well when she their relationship with Miles for

36:15

awhile. Things get pretty rocky at the end

36:17

of their relationship and. I found

36:19

out later that he had started using

36:21

heroin toward the end of their relationship,

36:23

so that played be part of it.

36:26

But in the beginning, yes, they were

36:28

very happy and she was doing well

36:30

with him. Miles He died of an

36:32

overdose of In. That was a few

36:34

months after they broke apart. You.

36:37

Heard both Marty and Robin mention the Amber

36:39

had carried this trauma from the abuse she

36:41

endured at the hands of her father at

36:43

the age sex. Marty says the Amber had

36:46

tried to have a relationship with him over

36:48

the years, but she always ended up ceiling

36:50

let down by his actions. He.

36:53

Would makes. Us feel guilty because

36:55

he was homeless, he was alcoholic. he had

36:57

a failed marriage after that. And

36:59

it was always poor me and I think

37:01

she felt some guilt for that. but she

37:03

never could let it go. She could never

37:05

left the trauma go. She couldn't. She just

37:07

couldn't. Imagine. How many times we went to.

37:10

Counseling your we tried to talk about

37:12

it and I would. Say to her

37:14

you know don't let him When you you

37:16

have to take your power back from him.

37:19

She. Couldn't let it go. It definitely

37:21

is a lifelong struggle for her.

37:23

She just she couldn't recover from

37:25

it. She she tried. I think

37:27

she tried. But. She was never

37:30

able to. Leave. It in the past.

37:32

And. She felt she was hurt. She

37:34

felt guilt. That p couldn't

37:36

recover from it and. She.

37:38

Couldn't get past it. I was always in the back

37:40

of her mind. Brian. Was able

37:43

to set boundaries. One their dad was

37:45

out of prison. Brian was able to say

37:47

if you're going to be drinking, you can't

37:49

be around. He returned from about that

37:51

Aber wasn't able to set the boundary she

37:54

needed to with her dad. She wanted to

37:56

be there for him. In some part of

37:58

her brain she wanted to have. Relationship

38:00

with. Him I'm told that

38:02

fairly normal I don't have to

38:05

understand it, but she was never

38:07

able. To. Shut it off with him.

38:10

This. All boiled to the surface once more,

38:12

and. Twenty twenty when Ambers father

38:15

died. When. He died.

38:17

He died in a homeless camp. Here

38:19

in Lansing. Dead set her

38:21

back again. That was another i

38:24

think trauma for her. And.

38:26

They Twenty Twenty article in the Lansing

38:29

State Journal states that Markets Are Net

38:31

was found dead in a wooded area

38:33

along the Lansing River Trail on May

38:35

fourth. Twenty Twenty. Police believe that

38:38

he was murdered. He was homeless

38:40

and living in a tent at the

38:42

time. Another homeless person sound him unresponsive

38:44

in his tent and called Nine One

38:46

One. He was pronounced dead not long

38:48

after. A press release stated

38:50

that he sustained injuries caused his

38:52

death. Another article from November of

38:55

that year mention that is murder

38:57

was still unsolved. We. Can only

38:59

imagine how this may have affected Amber. After

39:01

everything that she had already been through, Those

39:04

who had once been close to Amber began

39:06

to feel her pulling away. They sell less

39:08

and less of her. Amber and

39:10

her friend Brandy had maintained a relationship.

39:12

For many years after high school, the Brandy

39:14

says that there was a change in Amber.

39:16

She didn't know what. Was going on. Brandy

39:18

was busy with her own family, but she

39:20

doesn't think that it was a good thing

39:22

for Amber. Amber kind

39:25

of just veered away from everybody and

39:27

or just the one our own thing.

39:29

and we had always Arcana hung out

39:31

together at groups and stuff like that

39:33

and. Amber kind I went. Am

39:35

I a. And nobody really seen

39:37

much or heard from are often. She.

39:39

Would obviously you know typeface that are mom.

39:41

Other than that. I. Haven't seen average

39:43

been. Quite awhile now. I

39:45

do believe ever got involved with

39:47

drugs and so it was just

39:50

nobody. From family or any

39:52

of us from the circle of

39:54

friends and cousins that we had

39:56

kind of associated ourself with, Nobody

39:58

clearly was doing any of that,

40:00

and so. I'm assuming she

40:02

had new friends in a circle like

40:05

that, but see, just commented on i

40:07

think one of my facebook pictures of

40:09

my daughter. I wanna say maybe like

40:11

a month or two before she came

40:14

up messing. With.

40:26

Everyone fighting for attention something your

40:28

business stand out and connect with

40:30

customers. Easy. Get

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on ios and android There's

42:12

a significant event or series of events that occurred

42:14

in the fall of 2022 regarding Amber

42:17

and a man she was dating. We

42:19

aren't sure how Amber met this man, how

42:21

long they had been together, if they were

42:23

on and off or what, but Amber had

42:25

been in a relationship with a man named

42:27

Mike Rogers. There are pictures of him

42:30

on Amber's social media dating back to 2018. Some

42:33

of the photos are of Amber visiting Mike in

42:35

prison. He has an extensive criminal history

42:38

dating back to 1999. In

42:41

2013 he was convicted of possession of

42:43

methamphetamine and given a 3-15 year sentence.

42:47

Before Mike was released from prison, Amber was

42:49

working as a caregiver and things seemed to

42:51

be going well for her. But

42:53

then Mike got out and Amber's life

42:55

was flipped upside down. Here's Marty again.

42:59

Up until January of this year, she

43:01

was running an adult foster care home

43:04

and probably in the fall of last

43:06

year, her boyfriend got out of prison

43:08

and he was living with her in

43:10

this home so they shut the home

43:12

down. Rightfully so, they shut

43:15

the home down. She was endangering these people

43:17

because the commands had fallen. The police kept

43:19

getting called to this house. They

43:21

shut the home down and then she got evicted

43:23

from the home. Robin

43:25

feels that Mike Rogers coming into Amber's life

43:27

was a turning point for her niece and

43:30

not a good one. There

43:32

was this gentleman that was in prison. Somehow

43:34

he got to talking to her and writing

43:36

to her and as soon as he

43:38

got out of prison, that's when

43:41

she let go of the gentleman that

43:43

things were going good with. When

43:45

he came in the picture, it was kind

43:47

of just one big nightmare. It all went

43:49

backwards again. During

43:51

our follow-up interviews with Marty, we asked her

43:54

if she could tell us more about how

43:56

Amber and Mike's relationship developed. She

43:58

explained that Amber had known Mike before she dated

44:00

Miles. And Miles was who she had dated

44:02

while Mike was in prison. But Marty admits

44:05

that she doesn't know all of the details

44:07

of their relationship. But there was one

44:09

thing that she could tell us. She wasn't a

44:11

fan of Mike Rogers. Amber's

44:14

boyfriend, the last boyfriend that I know

44:16

of, his name is Mike. I don't

44:18

know when they met. They'd been together

44:21

for a time before he went

44:23

to prison. Amber credits Mike,

44:25

actually, for helping her stop drinking.

44:27

At one point, she was living

44:29

with me and Mike was

44:32

incarcerated. This was, oh gosh,

44:35

five, four or five years ago. And

44:37

she was scared to death of him. She

44:39

was scared that he was going to get

44:41

out and come and get her and harm

44:43

her in some way. And she

44:45

was definitely afraid of him. And she

44:47

was being used by him for for

44:49

cash in his account. And

44:51

she and I just had arguments after arguments

44:53

about, you know, why are you letting him

44:56

treat you this way kind of thing. And

44:58

so she finally broke away from him. She

45:00

was with another young man for a

45:02

few years in between. And then

45:05

Mike was released from prison, I

45:07

want to say a year ago, last

45:10

winter, sometime or last fall in 22. And

45:13

the next thing I know, they're they're back

45:15

together again. So I was I

45:17

was very surprised by that, because she

45:19

had been so so afraid of him

45:21

physically afraid of him to hear

45:23

that they were back together really surprised

45:25

me. But that's where things went downhill

45:27

when they when they got back together

45:30

again, she lost her job and she lost the

45:32

home that she was living in. There were a

45:34

lot of things that happened. But he was a

45:36

major, major reason

45:38

in in why everything that

45:41

I've heard about Mike throughout this

45:43

investigation throughout digging for information has

45:45

not been good. He's violent. He's

45:47

vile. He's evil. Some of the

45:50

things that he's reported to have

45:52

said to her are just

45:54

horrific. But I can't verify

45:56

any of that. She picked violent

45:58

men to be with. She had a

46:00

type and they were not always

46:02

model citizens. I would not

46:05

say that her relationship with Mike

46:07

was healthy in any form or

46:09

fashion. Perhaps while

46:11

Mike was incarcerated for many years, he and

46:13

Amber were writing and he'd build a fantasy

46:15

in their minds of how things would go

46:17

when he got out. But in reality,

46:19

it didn't turn out to be a whirlwind

46:21

romance. Mike had been incarcerated

46:24

for long stretches of his adult life

46:26

for things like armed robbery, conspiracy to

46:28

commit armed robbery, carrying a firearm while

46:31

committing a felony, and possession of methamphetamine.

46:33

Maybe he talked a good talk while

46:35

he was behind bars and had the

46:38

structure that prison creates. And

46:40

perhaps he intended to turn his life around

46:42

when he was released this time. There's

46:44

no way for us to know for

46:46

sure. And Mike is currently incarcerated with

46:48

a projected release date somewhere between 2028

46:50

and 2045. So

46:53

he wasn't readily available for us to

46:55

ask questions about his relationship with Amber.

46:58

However, when Marty told us about Amber allowing

47:00

Mike Rogers, a felon, to stay at the

47:02

adult foster care home she worked and lived

47:04

at, we felt we had to look into

47:07

this further. What we discovered was

47:09

that this was a very ugly part of

47:11

the story. We were completely shocked by what

47:13

we read and ended up putting Amber's case

47:15

on the shelf for a few weeks, wondering

47:17

how we could cover this. Should we cover

47:20

this? It was very upsetting for

47:22

a number of reasons, but we chewed on

47:24

it while we took our holiday break and had

47:26

a lot of conversations in the background about

47:28

ethics and where do we draw a line?

47:31

After the dust settled and we returned from

47:33

our break, we decided to go back to

47:35

our original mission and core belief that everyone

47:37

deserves to be found. Marty and everyone else

47:40

who loves Amber couldn't control her decisions. She

47:42

was an adult, but they're the ones who

47:44

are left looking for Amber. They're the ones

47:46

picking up the pieces and trying to solve

47:49

the puzzle of what happened to her. And

47:51

they deserve to be heard. They deserve our

47:53

respect, empathy and kindness. With

47:55

that being said, we also chose not to

47:57

omit this from the story. It could be

47:59

an important piece of the puzzle or a

48:02

key to figuring out the why in this

48:04

case, the motive. And we never want to

48:06

sugarcoat anything. Having an accurate picture

48:08

of what was going on only helps us to

48:10

get closer to the truth. Not

48:12

only that, but this involves the care and

48:14

safety of some of the most vulnerable people

48:16

in our communities. And we don't want to

48:18

pretend that this didn't happen. We

48:21

were able to obtain a special investigation

48:23

report that was prepared by the Michigan

48:25

Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, recommending

48:28

that the company who owned and operated

48:30

the home that Amber worked at have

48:32

their license revoked and suspended. It

48:34

states that this home that Amber was

48:37

working and living at was designated to

48:39

care for people who were physically handicapped,

48:41

developmentally disabled, mentally ill, aged, and

48:43

with Alzheimer's. There were two

48:45

allegations made in September of 2022. Remember,

48:49

this was about nine months before Amber

48:51

disappeared. The first allegation was that there

48:53

was an unapproved person staying at the

48:55

home who was the partner of a

48:57

staff member. That staff member would be

48:59

Amber. The second allegation was regarding the

49:01

death of a resident at the home

49:03

on September 18th, 2022. There

49:06

was a concern about this person's cause of

49:08

death. Was it natural? Or if they

49:10

had received proper care during a

49:13

medical emergency? We're going to address

49:15

the second one first. When we

49:17

read that one for the first time, we were

49:19

worried about what we might read in this document.

49:22

But this was later determined to be

49:24

unfounded. After the first complaint

49:26

had been filed about an unapproved person staying

49:28

at the home, someone reported that

49:30

a person had died at the facility on September

49:32

18th. The complainant was concerned

49:34

because they weren't sure if the person was

49:36

a resident or someone who didn't belong there

49:38

and died from a drug overdose. The

49:40

person who had passed away at the facility

49:43

on September 18th was a resident

49:45

and is referred to as resident C

49:47

in this document. On the morning that

49:50

this resident passed away, Amber called her

49:52

supervisor and said that the resident was

49:54

not acting like herself. The supervisor advised

49:56

Amber to call 911 and have them

49:59

evaluate the resident. Amber did

50:01

as she was told and EMT said

50:03

that everything was normal but suggested that

50:05

they take her to the hospital for

50:07

further evaluation but the resident declined. The

50:10

resident had soiled herself in bed

50:12

and Amber helped her to the bathroom and

50:14

proceeded to begin cleaning the bedding and gathering

50:17

new clothing. When Amber returned to

50:19

the restroom to check on the resident, Amber

50:21

found her unresponsive on the floor. Amber

50:23

called 911 and began administering

50:26

CPR. When the police and

50:28

ambulance arrived, they pronounced the resident dead

50:30

at the scene. The medical

50:32

examiner later reported that resident C had

50:34

died from acute kidney disease. She

50:37

had an appointment with her primary care doctor

50:39

a week prior who had been concerned

50:41

about her kidney function and had ordered

50:43

further testing scheduled for the day after

50:46

she passed. The investigation found that Amber

50:48

and her supervisor had taken the proper

50:50

steps not only on the day that

50:52

she passed away but also the week prior by

50:55

taking her to her primary care physician. The

50:58

report states that resident C was

51:00

treated with dignity and her personal needs

51:02

including protection and safety were attended to

51:04

at all times. So with

51:06

that very serious allegation out of the way, we're

51:09

going to go back to the first one. A

51:12

complaint was made about a man living at the

51:14

home and the person believed that this man was

51:16

not a resident that should have been there but

51:18

instead a partner of the home manager and direct

51:20

care staff member, Amber Arnett. This

51:23

person is referred to in the report as

51:25

Citizen 1 but we know from our research

51:27

that this is Mike Rogers. The

51:30

complainant is anonymous in this report but it

51:32

sounds like a neighbor of the facility. They

51:35

reported that there were cars coming and going

51:37

at odd hours. Amber appeared

51:39

paranoid about anyone using cell phones near

51:41

the facility and that in the spring of 2022, a

51:44

resident was seen running up and down the

51:46

street and were taken by ambulance to be

51:49

evaluated. Mike Rogers or Citizen 1

51:51

turned up a couple of months prior and

51:53

the complainant said that he was doing car

51:55

repairs in the driveway all hours of the

51:57

night. Cars would just roll up. and

52:00

unfamiliar women would come and go. On

52:02

September 29, 2022, this witness watched

52:05

as the Michigan State Police and

52:07

U.S. Marshals surrounded the facility and

52:09

began calling for Mike Rogers to

52:11

come outside while Amber yelled from

52:13

the door. Following this

52:15

complaint, they went and spoke with a state

52:17

trooper who was also a member of the

52:19

U.S. Marshals' task force. He confirmed

52:22

that they had executed a warrant

52:24

for Mike Rogers' arrest due to

52:26

felony absconding from parole and the

52:28

selling of illegal drugs, specifically methamphetamine.

52:31

The trooper went on to say that they had

52:33

been surveilling Rogers for weeks before executing the

52:35

warrant and they believed that he had been

52:37

living at the facility based on what they

52:39

had seen. When they attempted to

52:41

arrest Rogers, he refused to exit the facility.

52:44

They requested that Amber assist them, but she

52:46

said she didn't know who he was, where

52:48

he was, and so on. They explained to

52:50

Amber that they had watched him pull up

52:52

to the home, exit his vehicle, and enter

52:55

the facility. After hearing this

52:57

information, the trooper said that Amber became

52:59

belligerent, so they entered the facility and

53:01

apprehended Rogers. On the third

53:04

floor of the home, which was not

53:06

designated for resident use and didn't have

53:08

any resident rooms, they found the

53:10

area where it appeared that Amber and

53:12

Rogers had been living. The trooper reported

53:14

finding a rubbermaid tote full of marijuana,

53:16

needles, food, and clothes strewn about.

53:19

And in Rogers' vehicle, they found methamphetamine.

53:22

They also found a bedroom with a

53:24

large screen television that was monitoring four

53:26

cameras outside. The owner of the facility

53:28

was not aware of the cameras and

53:31

hadn't installed them. It was their belief that

53:33

they had been installed to help hide Rogers

53:35

and monitor what was going on outside. While

53:38

they were there, troopers encountered two

53:40

residents downstairs. They attempted to

53:42

speak with them, but one was

53:44

nonverbal and the other couldn't provide

53:47

specific information due to developmental disabilities.

53:49

But the trooper remarked that both residents appeared

53:52

to be dressed appropriately and their personal

53:54

hygiene needs appeared to have been met.

53:56

During the course of their investigation into the

53:59

facility, they found a found that only Amber and

54:01

the two residents that the trooper had seen were

54:03

permitted to be there. Mike Rogers

54:05

shouldn't have been there at all because he

54:07

was a fugitive felon and could have put

54:09

the residents in harm's way. Amber

54:11

claimed that they were never in harm's way and

54:14

that the residents didn't even know what happened when

54:16

Rogers was arrested. Amber went on

54:18

to say that Rogers had at one time saved her life

54:20

and she owed him this by not talking.

54:23

They concluded that Amber was not fit to care

54:25

for the residents of the home. It

54:27

states, direct care staff member Amber

54:29

Arnett is not suitable to assure the

54:31

welfare of residents after she

54:33

knowingly allowed Citizen 1 to stay at

54:35

the facility for multiple weeks with vulnerable

54:38

adults present and impeded the

54:40

job of Michigan State Police and

54:42

U.S. Marshals Task Force by providing

54:44

false information about Citizen 1's whereabouts

54:46

and her knowledge about Citizen 1. Her

54:49

resistance to assist police led to the

54:51

execution of a search warrant at the

54:53

AFC facility with resident A and resident

54:56

B present. There were a

54:58

series of violations noted and not only did

55:00

Amber lose her job but the end of

55:02

the report says, due to the

55:04

severity of the quality of care violations,

55:06

I recommend revocation of the license and

55:08

that the license be suspended effective

55:11

immediately. The home was closed

55:13

down and Amber was now essentially homeless.

55:16

We want to take a step back here and

55:18

acknowledge the severity of all of this. The

55:21

facility that Amber was managing housed

55:23

extremely vulnerable people who were not

55:25

able to advocate for themselves. As

55:27

you just heard that the trooper stated

55:29

that one was non-verbal and the other

55:32

had significant developmental disabilities. Not

55:34

only was Amber harboring a fugitive but there

55:36

were drugs there too. There

55:38

are so many things that could have gone wrong

55:40

and resulted in harm to those residents. There

55:43

also seemed to be a lack of oversight of

55:45

the facility from the manager. The

55:47

report only mentioned Amber and a housekeeper

55:49

being present and the housekeeper was only

55:51

there sometimes and hadn't even passed a

55:54

background check yet. This is the

55:56

kind of situation many of us fear when

55:58

we may someday have to contemplate seeking care

56:00

for a loved one. Amber was later

56:02

charged along with Rogers. Her charges

56:05

included one count of possession of

56:07

a controlled substance and two counts

56:09

of firearms altering ID marks. At

56:12

the time that Amber disappeared, she had been bailed

56:14

out and would soon be facing her day in

56:16

court. We don't know what happened in

56:18

those months that Rogers was staying there with Amber.

56:20

We don't know if she was using drugs with

56:23

him. She had once been a trusted caregiver

56:25

but made a series of terrible

56:27

decisions. We won't call them

56:30

mistakes because these aren't mistakes. They're

56:32

bad decisions. While speaking with

56:34

Marty, she told us that she had never seen

56:36

this document before and she was shocked and

56:38

horrified when she had a chance to read

56:40

it for herself. I

56:42

wasn't aware of that but it

56:45

does sound like Amber. It sounds

56:47

like she's again

56:49

with Mike in the

56:51

picture, she did not make rational,

56:53

good rational decisions and letting him

56:55

back into the picture was the

56:57

worst decision she could have made

56:59

and I can absolutely

57:01

see her defending him all

57:04

the way down the road. In action, in words,

57:06

I can see her defending him. If

57:08

you were Amber's person and

57:10

she thought you were under attack, she

57:13

would go to the mat every time, every

57:15

time, especially with Mike. I don't know.

57:17

I truly don't understand

57:20

that relationship but she

57:22

would defend him unconditionally.

57:25

I know my daughter wasn't an angel

57:27

by any stretch of the imagination and

57:30

that whole stretch of time

57:32

between when Mike got out of prison

57:34

around that same time up until she

57:36

lost her home and it was

57:39

one continuous bad thing after another and

57:41

I'm not surprised they shut down that

57:43

AFC home. I would be very surprised

57:45

if they didn't shut it down. I

57:48

know that there are things that

57:50

Amber has done that they're not,

57:52

things that you would wish your

57:54

child to do. I just, even

57:56

knowing that I hope that somebody

57:58

hears this and somebody hears

58:01

her dirty laundry and says, hey I need

58:04

to be a doctor if it helps. Courtney

58:07

also told us that she hadn't seen this document

58:09

and didn't know all of the details of what

58:11

had happened. She had a difficult

58:13

time reconciling the amber that she knew with

58:15

what she read. I

58:17

can talk about the last seven years and I

58:20

can tell you she wasn't. Up until this last

58:22

year, maybe this last year and a half, she

58:24

was not on anything. She was taking

58:26

care of her diabetes. She loved taking

58:29

care of her residents. I

58:31

honestly never saw a bad side of Amberg. You

58:33

know, when we hear about that document, like I

58:35

know what, I know roughly what happened over there,

58:37

it's really hard for me to wrap my head

58:39

around. You know what I mean? We

58:41

know that nothing is ever black and white. No

58:44

one is all good or all bad. People

58:46

do make bad decisions and sometimes they

58:48

turn things around. They make amends. They

58:51

write their wrongs. And sometimes people don't.

58:53

It can be disappointing for loved ones to

58:56

reconcile hearing these things about someone they care

58:58

deeply for. So many people have

59:00

seen the good side of Amber. They had seen

59:02

her truly care for the people that she was

59:04

a caregiver for. They said she was

59:06

dedicated to them. How did things get

59:08

to this point? Marty says that she had

59:10

seen a change in her daughter before this

59:13

occurred and she put boundaries in place

59:15

with Amber. Marty didn't allow Amber to

59:17

stay at her home but her door was open

59:19

when Amber needed a shower or a warm meal.

59:22

I just said, I can't do this anymore. I

59:25

can't, you're welcome in my house. I'll feed you

59:27

anytime you want. You cannot

59:29

bring those people to my house. I don't

59:31

know who those people are. I've heard some

59:33

bad things. I don't want those people in my house. I

59:35

don't want them to know where I live. She could come

59:37

home but she couldn't be here by herself towards

59:40

the end and she couldn't bring

59:42

people with her. From January

59:44

up until June when she disappeared, she was

59:46

basically homeless. She'd stay here for a few

59:48

days. She'd stay in one friend's house for

59:51

a few days. For a couple weeks, she'd

59:53

be in another house. She was kind of

59:55

just bouncing around. I don't know that she

59:57

ever stayed at a shelter or she was...

1:00:00

ever out on the streets, but she

1:00:02

just kind of couch-surfed as far as

1:00:04

I know. I'd hear from her

1:00:06

every couple weeks, hey, Mom, I need to come

1:00:08

home. I need to take a

1:00:10

shower. I need to get some food.

1:00:12

I need to sleep for a couple of

1:00:14

days. Can I come check my mail? All

1:00:16

of her mail came here. All of her

1:00:18

belongings are here at my house. So

1:00:21

she'd come and switch out a bag full

1:00:23

of clothes like a pit stop. My

1:00:25

house was kind of like a pit stop.

1:00:27

It bothered me that she was living that

1:00:29

lifestyle. Couldn't hold a job at that

1:00:31

point. She'd get a job and then she'd work

1:00:34

a couple weeks and she'd be out

1:00:36

of the job. We constantly had the

1:00:38

discussion about, Amber, nobody's going to let

1:00:40

you stay at their house if you're not working. Nobody

1:00:43

gets to live for free. So it

1:00:45

bothered me that she was living that

1:00:47

lifestyle. It's hard to watch

1:00:50

your child go through that. And it's

1:00:52

knowing that it's through her own

1:00:54

choices. One thing

1:00:56

we wondered when we read that report and

1:00:58

heard what Marty had told us was if

1:01:00

Amber had traded one substance for another when

1:01:03

she gave up drinking. But Marty doesn't know

1:01:05

the answers to that for sure. I don't

1:01:08

know that she did any hard drugs as

1:01:11

in crack or heroin or anything. I

1:01:13

never saw it in, I worked in

1:01:15

my career. I worked as an EAP

1:01:18

and employee assistance person. So I was

1:01:20

familiar with the signs and

1:01:22

symptoms and I never saw any

1:01:25

evidence of her using any hard

1:01:27

drugs. I think she probably smoked

1:01:29

pot occasionally but I didn't see any

1:01:31

evidence of anything else. I'm not saying

1:01:34

she did or didn't. I'm just saying

1:01:36

I didn't see it and I get

1:01:38

mixed reviews when I ask her friends,

1:01:40

her close friends. Some say occasionally she

1:01:43

would partake in something and others

1:01:45

say she was always... So I don't know what

1:01:47

the truth is to be honest with you. I

1:01:49

can only say that I never saw it and

1:01:52

whenever she was around me, I would

1:01:54

have noticed if she was stoned all the

1:01:56

time. I would have noticed that. I would

1:01:58

have noticed her nodding out if she... was

1:02:00

using heroin. I knew what to look for. She

1:02:02

was the reason I got into the EAP part

1:02:04

of my job. In

1:02:06

those final months before Amber mysteriously vanished,

1:02:09

Marty saw that Amber wanted to do

1:02:11

better. She wanted a change in her

1:02:13

life, a permanent one. Perhaps

1:02:15

now that Mike was once again behind bars, Amber

1:02:17

had time to clear her head and see the

1:02:20

damage that had been done and how the people

1:02:22

she had once cared for had been put

1:02:24

in danger. She was planning to go to

1:02:26

court and face the music. But before

1:02:28

that could happen, Amber was gone. And

1:02:32

I know she wanted to do better. We talked

1:02:34

about it several times. She wanted to do better.

1:02:36

She wanted to get a job and stabilize things

1:02:38

again. She wanted to get out of trouble with

1:02:40

the law. She had court appointments set up. She

1:02:42

had a lawyer to deal with

1:02:45

the charges. She was finally going to get

1:02:47

all of that taken care of. She had

1:02:49

a court appointment, I think it was July

1:02:51

13th. So shortly after she went missing, she

1:02:54

should have been in court dealing with this stuff.

1:02:56

She wanted to do better. And that's just not

1:02:58

my mom talking. That's she and I had that

1:03:00

discussion. She was tired of bouncing around

1:03:02

and not having stability.

1:03:06

So this is where we're going to pick up

1:03:08

Amber's story next week. You've learned about Amber's life

1:03:10

and the events that occurred in the lead up

1:03:12

to her disappearance. Law enforcement states

1:03:14

that Amber was last seen at a dollar

1:03:16

store in Lansing because that's the last place

1:03:19

that they have video footage of Amber alive

1:03:21

and well. But Amber's family believes

1:03:23

that they've uncovered proof on her social

1:03:25

media accounts showing where Amber went next

1:03:28

and where everything went silent on her

1:03:30

accounts. Amber's loved ones have been

1:03:32

frustrated with the police investigation into

1:03:34

her disappearance and have felt like

1:03:36

they must dig into each tip that they get on their

1:03:38

own. They've been in the trenches and

1:03:41

meshing themselves with a sketchy crowd, sometimes

1:03:43

digging in fields, looking for Amber's body.

1:03:45

They refuse to give up searching for

1:03:47

her. You can follow their search efforts

1:03:49

on social media at help us find

1:03:52

Amber. If you have any

1:03:54

information regarding the disappearance of Amber Arnett,

1:03:56

please call the Lansing Police Department at

1:03:58

517-488-7200. I

1:04:03

hope we find her. We just want to bring her home.

1:04:05

We love her. And whoever thinks that we're going to be

1:04:07

quiet, we're not going to stop there dead wrong because we

1:04:09

will not be quiet and we will not stop until we

1:04:11

find her. We will do whatever we have to do and

1:04:13

we will go as high as we have to go. You

1:04:16

know, as Amber's mom looking for her, I

1:04:18

haven't had much luck. I've been on TV

1:04:21

here a couple of, two, three different times,

1:04:23

you know, I've been all over Facebook and

1:04:25

we've got a page, help us find

1:04:27

Amber Facebook page. She's not

1:04:29

always made the best choices, but she's still

1:04:32

my daughter that doesn't, nothing changes about

1:04:34

that. She's still my daughter and I'm

1:04:36

still going to, she's my family. There's

1:04:39

only the three of us. So a third of

1:04:41

me is missing. Well, there's

1:04:43

a recording. He's seeing three little birds, you

1:04:45

know, Bob Marley, three little birds, singing that

1:04:47

song and she's like, you know, do you

1:04:50

know, Amber, and he's saying, don't worry, it'll

1:04:52

be okay. Every little thing will be alright.

1:04:54

And he's like, them little birds were about

1:04:56

to sing. One little man gonna sing

1:04:58

no more and the other one probably gonna sing pretty

1:05:00

soon. You know what I mean? He's like basically admitting

1:05:02

to doing this shit. And I heard it. They

1:05:05

thought that he was snitching. So I went over there and

1:05:07

I knocked and I was like, man, you know, I just

1:05:09

want to know what you know about my cousin. You know

1:05:11

what I'm saying? That's it. He's like, hold on a minute.

1:05:14

And he walked away and I thought he was just not

1:05:16

gonna talk to me. So I was going towards my car

1:05:18

to open the door and he's like, come here and I

1:05:20

go inside and we're talking and he just kind of be

1:05:22

a stand off. He's not really saying shit. And I'm like,

1:05:24

no. I said, you know, you got a kid. I was

1:05:26

like, you don't got nobody in your family that you love.

1:05:28

My cousin's missing, man. I want to know. He's like, I

1:05:30

don't care about nobody. I was like, man, stop the bullshit,

1:05:32

dude. There's got to be somebody to care about. And he

1:05:34

kind of looked for a thing like he's thinking and he's

1:05:36

most just for me to come to him. He sits in

1:05:38

his chair and he's just whispered in my ear. He said,

1:05:40

don't worry. She's buried. She's buried six feet deep somewhere. And

1:05:42

like, I got that tunnel vision ringing and sitting. I'm

1:05:44

like, but where is she at? He's like, I can't

1:05:46

tell you that. I'm

1:05:53

like, I can't tell you that. That

1:06:20

brings us to the end of episode 425. I'd

1:06:24

like to thank everyone who spoke with us for

1:06:26

this story. If you have a missing loved one

1:06:28

that you'd like to have featured on the show,

1:06:30

there is a case submission form at thevanishedpodcase.com. If

1:06:34

you'd like to join in on the discussion, there's a

1:06:36

page and discussion group on Facebook. You

1:06:38

can also find us on Instagram. If you like

1:06:40

our show, please give us a five-star rating and

1:06:42

review. You can also support the

1:06:44

show by contributing on Patreon, or you can

1:06:47

get early and ad-free episodes. Be

1:06:49

sure to tune in next week for part

1:06:51

two of Amber's story. Thanks for watching. Hey,

1:07:33

Prime members, you can listen to The

1:07:35

Vanished ad-free on Amazon Music. Download

1:07:37

the Amazon Music app today, or

1:07:39

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1:07:42

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1:07:44

go, tell us about yourself by

1:07:46

completing a short survey at wondery.com/

1:07:48

survey. Being

1:07:51

an actual royal is never about finding your happy

1:07:53

ending, but the worst part is if they

1:07:55

step out of line or fall in love with the

1:07:57

wrong person, it changes the course of

1:08:00

of history.